Reviews of anything and everything worth watching on TV or reading in books...

Saturday, 21 July 2012

The Aztecs

After the average The
Keys of Marinus, another Terry Nation sci-fi, Doctor Who returns to form with another glorious historical, once
again penned by the magnificent John Lucarotti.The Aztecs is probably my
favourite Hartnell story in existence.Perfectly
scripted again, and with wonderful performances from everyone involved, it is
troubling, educational, insightful and moral all at once, dealing with the
conventions of the Aztec people, including worship of multiple gods in the
hopes of appeasing each of them, usually with human sacrifice.

As was introduced last episode, Barbara, an history teacher,
shows particular interest in this particular time period, and revels in the
fact that they have arrived pre-discovery by Cortez, and therefore are able to
appreciate this culturally advanced society, with regards to art and
architecture at least.Mistaken for a
god at the beginning of the first episode, she embraces this culture fully,
before realising that she is genuinely appalled at their ceremonies.Despite warnings from the Doctor, in one of
Hartnell’s best scenes ever, that she should never change history, “not one
line!”, she interrupts the sacrifice, shaming the offering into committing
suicide from the temple roof.What is
refreshing here is that once again the educational aspects of the show are not
forced, but come from natural sounding dialogue.Her desperation to make them see the error of
their ways is fraudulent – it is forcing a moral code onto people who are not
concerned by such things.This culture
has tradition, and this element is most important.The question which arises is whether Barbara
has any right to interfere.Moreover, as
the Doctor warns, interfering in the course of history can only end badly.

The key question, of course, is whether or not she is right
to be doing it at all?In all of the sci-fi
stories, the TARDIS crew have stepped in and proactively brought about change;
they taught the Thals how to fight back again, defeating the Daleks;they destroyed the Conscience machine in
Arbitan’s palace, wiping out the Voord along with it.But in an historical story, that simply
cannot be done.History is a straight
line, and it cannot be rewritten.No, “not
one line” (Take heed, Moffat!)We know
that when Cortez arrived, the Aztecs were savage, despite all of the art and
culture of the time – they still killed people.Of course, many killed in the name of their God at that time.It just depended on whether it was the right
God or not (see Pizarro’s conquest of Atahuallpa for evidence).So whilst they have actively changed the
history of planets they have visited, the history of the Earth must stay the
same.What we see here is that, despite
her attempts to prevent the sacrifice, it leads to the ‘victim’s’ mortification
– he was desperate to die, to prove himself worthy.These people do not want, or need, saving from
themselves.They aren’t Thals being
threatened with extermination by the Daleks, or citizens of Marinus being
threatened by rapists, men in wetsuits and mind-control.Instead, they are committed to their
lifestyle and choices.Where Lucarotti
shines, and where Nation, with his one-dimension ‘moral’ stories fail
miserably, is that these characters are so rounded, so understandable, that we
are on their side.The time travellers
have no right to try to divert history – not because of the threat it would
pose to history itself, but simply because these people do not want to change.

Barbara’s fascination with the period allows for a great
deal of insight.Autloc, the High Priest
of Knowledge, represents all that is good about this Aztec civilisation.He is pure, innocent, and genuine.Tlotoxl, the High Priest of Sacrifice (“the
local butcher”, as the Doctor and Ian refer to him) is dark, nasty,
malicious.However, Tlotoxl is actually
the more insightful of the two – it is he who sees through the charade, and the
cliff-hanger at the end of episode 1, where he threatens to “destroy her” shows
that he understands far more than the priest of ‘knowledge’.John Ringham’s performance is outstanding –
he brings elements of Olivier portraying Richard III, shuffling and leering as
he does, a knife permanently in his hand.All of his dialogue with Barbara is delivered right up close, into her
face, as he towers over her, looming like a malevolent giant.

In episode 2, Hartnell is brilliant when delivering another
powerhouse rant from the Doctor about interference – which is marvellous – but he
suddenly changes tact completely and apologises for how harsh he has been.We must remember that, until The Edge of Destruction, Hartnell’s
default position was angry.He was
constantly ranting.Following his
apology in the third serial, he has become more grandfatherly, less
crotchety.This explosion of anger at
the endangerment of his group would have seemed out of place any earlier in the
series – Lucarotti never dared place a scene quite like this in Marco Polo, but it is a nice touch that
shows that, serial by serial, they are growing into a family unit, working
together with all of their might to get through.

Hartnell’s brilliance continues in those scenes which have
him in the foreground – particularly in relation with Cameca, and discussing
her with Ian.His offhand comment “Yes,
I made her some cocoa and got engaged” in episode 3 is wonderfully delivered in
deadpan, and Ian’s double take as he processes the news is fantastic.Again, everything about this serial feels so
natural, and so fresh.

The direction of this serial is near flawless – John Crockett
directed the fourth instalment of Marco
Polo, and whilst that does not exist at all, we can safely assume that he
was truly in his element with the historical.The use of extras, particularly in the amusing and touching scenes
between the Doctor and Cameca, are fantastic, particularly when Hartnell
notices them all milling about behind them.There is a touch of “Citizen Kane” in some of the shots – deep focus
photography framing the less significant characters between things in the
foreground, which speaks volumes of the hierarchical society of the Aztec
culture.The incidental music too is
gorgeous – the tension mounts during fight sequences as the drums are gradually
layered into the sounds of flutes and pipes.Richard Rodney Bennett’s soundscape is evocative of a simpler time, and
melds beautifully with Lucarotti’s script to create a magnificent sense of
scope.

Keith Pyott as Autloc is wonderful, understated and
heartbreaking.The scene in episode 3
where he beseeches Barbara not to “deceive me, or prove false to me” is painful
to watch, as we know that she is doing just that – she is purposefully lying to
him, destroying his faith and forcing him to question all that he holds
true.In this story, more than any
other, we see the crew of the TARDIS as meddlers, by no means making things
better for those involved.As the fourth
episode comes to a close, and the Doctor et al run for the TARDIS, everything
has gone wrong.They have done no good,
whatsoever – despite the Doctor’s claim that they improved “one man, and that is
enough”.This simply does not ring true;
due to their interference, the only good and true person, Autloc, has relegated
himself to exile, where he almost certainly will not survive long.Tlotoxl has won, and he makes his
sacrifice.His new High Priest of
Knowledge, Tonila, is an obsequious wretch, oozing slime as he does exactly as
Tlotoxl tells him.Nothing has improved
for the better.If anything, the crew
have led the Aztecs into a darker way of life, with even more focus upon
sacrifice and blood-letting.Likewise,
the destruction of Cameca is horrific to watch – she realises that the Doctor
has no interest in her as she does him, yet she is still willing to risk her
life for him.The scene in which she
attempts to bribe the guard with the seal is wonderful, but what akes it so
special and so poignant, is that after Ian knocks her out, she still leaves the
seal in his unconscious hands.He has
earned it, regardless of his willingness to help their cause.

Overall, this story demonstrates, once again, the majesty of
Lucarotti’s writing, but more than that, it proves how strong the staple cast
are too.Jacqueline Hill has never been
so good, and indeed won’t be again.This
is her personal favourite of all of her episodes, and we can see why – Lucarotti’s
writing gives her the chance to sink her teeth into something morally and
consciously reprehensible, and the pain in her face as she realises that she
destroyed the faith of the only good man amongst them is terrific.

3 comments:

Marco Polo does exist in the audio version with Ian (William Russell) narrating taped off the television at the time by fans and cleaned up by the BBC they do have the whole episodes great for Doctor Who fans that didn't get to see them the first time around.

The Aztecs is a work of genius. What else can I add? It shows that the Doctor is not invincible. He can help some people at key events. Others he is powerless with. We all know that Mochtezuma will still be overseeing blood sacrifice when Cortez pops in. Tlotoxl I find a wonderful character. More than a villain he is the true guardian of his culture. His motives seem pure. He sincerely believes that their survival depends on sacrifice. He also recognises Barbara as a deceiver. Why should he listen to a woman who insults the gods by impersonating them? A situation as complex as mesoamerica is beyond the Doctor's resolving, even if they did transpire to be in an alternate universe. We only see that there is a multiverse in Dr Who, which model or how it relates to N-space is never resolved. Much as we never know if the "good" people he helps form dictatorships after he leaves.

About Me

Scott Edwards is a teacher of English and Theatre Studies, with a BAHons in English Literature and Film Studies.He is also a self-professed ‘ming-mong’, and is now going to return to some Classic Doctor Who.